Ducks get 6-foot-5 worth of receiver in Lavasier Tuinei

The Oregon Ducks finalized some paperwork Monday to address needs on offense and defense.

Lavasier Tuinei, a 6-foot-5 junior college receiver whose letter of intent got hung up on a technicality last week, is now signed. Also, the Ducks officially added Jerry Azzinaro to their staff as defensive line coach, replacing Michael Gray.

Tuinei, like quarterback Jeremiah Masoli a year ago, comes to the Ducks as a full qualifier out of high school, by way of junior college. That means Tuinei, who went to high school in Indiana before one year at Golden West (Calif.) CC, has four years to play three.

Rivals had Tuinei ranked 76th among junior college players and gave him three stars. He officially joins the highly recruited Diante Jackson, Braxton Lane and Nick Cole as receivers in the Ducks' class of 2009. Oregon coach Mike Bellotti said he "has a good feel" about another commitment, believed to be Tyrece Gaines, the nation's top-rated junior college receiver.

Bellotti also said he expects Tuinei to be able to play right away, and that's good considering what the Ducks have lost at that position.

Tuinei was an early commit to Oregon, but UO officials had to appeal twice to the NCAA to regain full qualifier status coming out of high school (and preserve that extra year of eligibility).

"It was more a technical or clerical error," Bellotti said of the snag, in which his high school transcript was not complete, partly because Tuinei was off the recruiting radar after he didn't play in his senior season at Hamilton Heights High.

Also, Tuinei will join the Ducks for spring practice, bringing his rangy receiving skills to Eugene that Bellotti likened to an athletic shortstop in baseball.

"He has the ability to run and his length in his limbs to get the balls and make the catches," said Bellotti, who also likes Tuinei's ability to make tough catches and to elude tacklers.

Tuinei, who caught 41 passes for 680 yards last season at Golden West, brings Oregon's signing class to 25, including 20 high school players and five from junior colleges.

In Azzinaro, the Ducks add a 27-year coaching veteran to the staff. He coached the defensive line at Marshall University last year after one year at the University of New Hampshire, the previous stop of current Oregon offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. Before that, he was defensive coordinator at Duke in 2004-06 and defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at Syracuse in 1999-2003, where he coached current NFL star Dwight Freeney.